


Royalty

by Virginia_Blue



Series: Russian Royalty [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-06
Updated: 2017-05-29
Packaged: 2018-03-06 07:02:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3125333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Virginia_Blue/pseuds/Virginia_Blue
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Natalia Romanova first glimpses the mysterious woman, she needs to know more about her. When Maria makes eye contact with the Princess, a curiosity is ignited...</p><p>AU. Natasha is Natalia Romanova, the Princess of Russia, who despises her father's plans for her future. Maria is a street kid who has no future outside of thievery and danger. Can the two women help each other to a better life? Or will something get in the way?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Woman in the Tree

Dancing was her release. Between all of the boring parties and forced pleasantries, Princess Natalia Romanova’s saving grace was the art of dance. On this particular evening, Natalia was found in the center of the ballroom floor, all eyes on her, dancing away. The fluidity of her movements was something to be admired. Her flexibility and femininity were balanced perfectly by her strength and sensuality. Her long hair was piled high on her head, and her dress did not leave much to the imagination. It’s no wonder she is the most desired woman in all of Russia.

Coming out of the spin that ended her dance, Natalia picked up her head and smiled. The applause was all around her, but she suddenly did not have eyes for them. Glancing through a window on the far end of the ballroom, she saw something unusual in the tree that grew beside the wall. Natalia saw a young woman, and at once she couldn’t look away. She felt the pull to know more.

Maria could climb like no other. Walls, trees, it didn’t matter, her skills were unparalleled. Tall and skinny, with a sharp face and intense eyes, everyone could tell that Maria was not one to be crossed. Climbing the palace walls was a favorite pastime of hers, though it had started as simply a necessity to sneak food from the kitchens. One evening, while sitting in a tree and eating a loaf of bread recently snatched, Maria saw a woman dancing. She had seen parties before, but she had never seen the redheaded beauty inside. When the woman finished her dance, Maria almost panicked as she made eye contact with her. Once the King came and whisked her away, however, Maria knew she was in no danger. Except… the King whisking her away? Did that mean that woman was Natalia Romanova, Princess of Russia? Maria had to know more.

Every night for at least a month, Maria returned to the same tree, hoping to catch a glimpse of Natalia. And for 7 of those nights, she was not disappointed.

\---

Natalia was growing tired of her father’s parties. She knew what they were for, gleamed their purpose after eligible young men were presented to her at every one. Her father was trying to marry her, and she was not happy with that one bit. The only thing that kept Natalia looking forward to her evenings was the mysterious woman in the tree, who never failed to be present. Every time she danced, she danced with a renewed passion, hoping to pull the woman from hiding. But every time after her dance was through, without fail, the young woman slipped away.

Maria slipped away because she was confused, but also, too intrigued for her own good. She was a street kid with a dead mom and a no good dad, she couldn’t be acquainted with a princess. Not even this one, with her beautiful dances and challenging eyes…

Fed up with the almost-tangible-but-not game she was playing with the woman in the tree, Natalia decided to take action. Sneaking out one night, she climbed the tree herself, rather precariously, and left a note in the branches at the woman’s favorite spot. And now, to wait.

\---

Hearing the sounds of a party through the window, Maria smiled to herself, knowing she was about to witness Natalia’s dancing. No matter her refusal to acknowledge their shared connection, Maria could not deny her desire to watch Natalia dance. Climbing the tree swiftly and silently, Maria reached her favorite spot in a matter of moments, but what she found there was not what was expected. Sitting on her hard bark was a folded white note. Picking it up, she unfolded it and read as follows:

Woman in the tree,

I have seen you watch me, and I watch you as well. Something in your gaze ignites a previously unknown desire in me, and I know you feel this connection between us. Please come to my rooms so that I may finally meet you. I reside in the Northwest Tower, on the second floor.

With hope,

Natalia

Watching through the window as the woman read the note, Natalia waited with bated breath.

Maria read and reread the note, hardly believing her eyes. The princess wanted to meet her? Unable to deny the fierce desire within herself as well, Maria debated her options. She needed to think.

The woman in tree began to climb down, sparing Natalia only one pained glance as she went. Confused, Natalia waited the remainder of the night for her to return. When she did not, Natalia retired to her rooms, despondent.

Sitting on her windowsill, gazing into the night, Natalia thought she saw something in a nearby tree rustle, but after looking more closely she saw nothing. Must’ve just been wishful thinking, was her last thought before she went to bed.

Maria sat in a tree near what she thought were Natalia’s rooms, debating what to do. Natalia sat on her windowsill, looking both lovely and sad. Maria wanted to know more, but as she leaned forward to get a better look, Natalia snapped her gaze to her hiding spot. Panicking, Maria remained stock still. After a moment, Natalia turned away and retired to bed. Maria, still unsure of her actions, climbed down the tree and back over the wall, disappearing into the night.


	2. First Meet

The next night, the same things occur. Natalia waits at her window and Maria watches, but Maria does not come forward.  
Later that night, as Maria lay down to sleep in the bitter cold, she regrets not coming forward. She has been lowering her self worth for so long it now seemed only natural, but she had to stop. Just because her circumstances have always been difficult doesn't mean that she didn't deserve compassion and relationships, which Natalia seemed ready to provide.  
\---  
On the third night Natalia went to her window without expecting to see anything. She feared she had scared away the woman, and without quite knowing why, that thought saddened her.  
Leaning on her windowsill and looking out, Maria was met by a startling sight. There, in a tree branch a few feet below and away from her window sat the woman. Blue eyes looked at her unflinchingly, almost questioningly.  
"Hi" was the only thing Maria could think of to say.  
Smiling slightly at Natalia's shock and inability to speak intelligently, Maria cocked her head to the side and kept looking at Natalia, raising an eyebrow.  
"Oh, um... Please, come in. Can you make it up here?"  
Maria actually laughed out loud at that. Nimbly leaning away from the tree with one arm extended, she fit her fingers into the cracks between the stones. Swinging from the tree completely she put her other hand and feet into the wall and began to climb. A few feet later she was at Natalia's window, silently asking permission to enter.  
Natalia nodded in return, slightly amazed at the mere seconds it had taken Maria to climb a seemingly unclimbable stone wall. Maria swung inside of Natalia's room with ease.  
"Please come sit."  
Walking over to where Natalia was indicating, Maria perched on the edge of her bed, amazed at the splendor of the room.  
"I'm Natalia. I can't explain why, but meeting you seemed really important somehow."  
"I think I understand. My name is Maria."  
Smiling at finally having a name to call her, Natalia extended her hand "Nice to meet you."  
"Likewise"  
Chuckling, the ice broken, both women visibly relaxed.  
Natalia shifted to lean against the headboard, patting the bed next to her, indicating Maria do the same.  
Slightly unsure of herself, Maria did as indicated.  
"So why did you want to meet me? I'm not exactly your usual acquaintance..."  
Natalia opened her mouth to speak, then closed it. Why had meeting Maria seemed so important to her?  
"I'm not sure. I think maybe because you weren't scared of me. Most people I don't like at all..." That got a chuckle from Maria, who completely understood.  
"But even the people who I thought I might like, I never got the chance to get to know. Everyone shied away from me or lusted after me, there was no in between. I've always been a commodity, a title, not a person. But something about the way you looked at me and kept coming back, it was new. You saw a person, not a title, and I desperately need that."  
Looking down at her hands, as if scared she said too much, Natalia fell silent.  
Reaching over and placing a hand on Natalia's arm, Maria looked at her reassuringly.  
"I can't pretend I know what it's like to be a princess and have those expectations on me, but I do know a thing or two about being judged. I'm a street kid, always have been. My mom is dead and my dad is in prison, most nights I sleep in an alleyway somewhere. People look at me and see nothing. I am nothing to them, and I can only amount to nothing in their eyes. And maybe they're right."  
Opening her mouth to argue, Natalia was hushed by Maria.  
"No, it's true, and it's okay... But you didn't look at me like so many of your class do. You were intrigued, not disgusted. And that intrigued me. Also, your dancing is incredible, so you've got that going for you."  
Grabbing Maria's hand, Natalia laughed lightly. "Yeah well, dancing is my saving grace most days. When I was a kid I hated it, but I think that's just because I sucked."  
"Pssshhhh. You, suck? I don't believe it."  
"Well you should." said Natalia laughing. "All I wanted was to fight, like the guards I saw training. My mother though, she loved to dance. She showed me how similar they are- fighting and dancing. Both a give and go, a relationship between the mind and body, beautiful..." Natalia spoke from the heart, as she never had before. For some reason talking to Maria was easy. Logically, Natalia knew that her and Maria had skipped a lot of first meeting posturing and small talk, but she didn't care.  
As Maria watched Natalia speak, she saw both passion and sorrow. "Your mother. You loved her very much, didn't you?"  
"She was my everything. I thought if I could grow up to become like her- so regal, so compassionate yet commanding- that I would be okay."  
"But?"  
"That means marriage. I can't be royalty if I do not marry, and I'm not a Romanova if I do not marry a man with power and influence."  
Maria sat silently for a moment, rubbing her thumb along the back of Natalia's hand in soothing circles. "And that is not what you want? To continue this life of royalty through marriage?"  
Natalia looked at Maria and locked her in a fierce gaze. "Never. I may not truly know what lies beyond those walls, but I would rather risk it than marry a man I do not love..." Deflating slightly, Natalia looks down as if ashamed, and mumbles, "I'm not entirely sure I could love a man anyway."  
Grabbing Natalia by the chin, Maria tilts her head up to look her in the eye. "We just met, but already I feel more connected to you than anyone else on this Earth. Don't hide from me, don't be ashamed. You don't want to marry? So be it. There's nothing wrong with that."  
Both touched by Maria's proclamation and amused that she missed what Natalia had meant, Natalia spoke. "My mysterious woman in the tree, thank you for your kind words. I have never been spoken to as such, but I fear you misunderstood me. I do wish to marry..." Natalia looks away and shifts her position on the bed, "but not to a man. If I married, if it were legal anyway, I think I would marry a woman."  
Natalia was very scared, having never admitted those feelings to anyone. She knew well her father's views on the matter, and so she knew it best to keep it to herself. With Maria though, she felt safe. Like she didn't want to keep secrets. Why isn't she saying anything though? Natalia hopes Maria isn't put off, she couldn't stand losing her first and only friend so soon.  
Suddenly, Maria starts to chuckle. Confused, Natalia looks at her with frightened eyes. Seeing her panic, Maria speaks quickly, "Calm, Natalia. My whole life I have been fighting for survival. I was forced into crime by my father, I've slept in alleyways and in the darkest corners of the street, I steal food from your kitchens because I can't justify stealing from the poor bakers who can barely afford food themselves. I have never had time to contemplate love and marriage. They are privileges of the rich, not fit for those of my status..." Now she starts smiling again, "but I think what you just said applies to me as well. I just realized something about myself that I had never before truly contemplated. And I couldn't tell you why, but I kind of find that funny."  
Maria starts laughing even more. Natalia just looks at her, as if worried about her sanity, but then decides to screw it and starts laughing too. Both women lean into each other, laughing like they never have before. Crying, Natalia comes to a realization- this is normal. Laughing with a friend over something absurdly minuscule is what normal people do. That sobers her slightly, and sensing her changing mood, Maria calms down too. "What is it?"  
Natalia looks confused. "Am I normal? I mean... Who even am I?"  
"You are Natalia, a beautiful young woman. You love dance and your mother. From what I have seen, you have struggles like anyone else. Expectations are placed on you that you don't want to perform or don't know how to live up to." Maria draped her arm over Natalia's shoulder and pulled her close. "You may be Princess Natalia Romanova of Russia, but I think you're just Natalia. And just so you know, normal is overrated anyway."  
Natalia leans further into Maria. "Thank you. For just seeing me as me, whoever that is."  
Sliding forward and laying down, Maria relaxes with Natalia's head on her chest. "And thank you. For seeing me as me also. It's something I'm not accustomed to."  
Laying silently listening to Maria's heart, Natalia soon drifts off to sleep. Maria, aware of how good it felt to have Natalia in her arms, drifted off to sleep soon after.  
\-----  
Waking to a pounding on her door, Natalia immediately panics. "Maria, wake up! They mustn't know you're here."  
Maria sits up grumpily. "Who the hell is knocking so loud this early?"  
"I'm a princess remember? They're my ladies in wait, come to prepare me for the day ahead." Natalia said in a slightly bitter and sarcastic tone.  
"Huh, I almost forgot you were royalty- strangely enough. When will I see you again?"  
"There's a ball tonight. Come watch me dance and meet me in here after. Don't bother to wait outside."  
The pounding on the door grew louder. "Coming!"  
Natalia started rushing Maria to the window, but Maria dug in her heels a few steps away. Looking Natalia in the eye, Maria grabs her hand and slowly brings it to her face. Planting a kiss on Natalia's hand, Maria says "Until next time my lady."  
Natalia smiles and watches as Maria perches herself on the window ledge and then leaps without hesitation onto the tree several feet away. Natalia is tempted to just watch Maria climb until she disappears over the wall, but the renewed pounding on the door brings her back to reality.  
"I said I'm coming!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My biggest thing with this story is trying to slow it down. I'm far too impatient when it comes to telling a story and letting it develop. I know this may move too quickly at times, but please be patient with my impatience.


	3. Changing Tides and Maria's Story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natalia's father is growing impatient. Meanwhile, Maria and Natalia grow closer as Maria finally shares her full story.

The ball that night marked 4 and one half weeks since Natalia’s father the King began the search for a suitor in earnest, and he was growing more frustrated by the day. How could his daughter not like any of the men he had presented? They were handsome, rich, and more than capable of giving her the firm hand she needs. If this continues for another month, the King decided, he would have a serious talk with her and pick a suitor himself.  
Natalia cannot stop thinking about Maria, she doesn’t understand these feelings growing inside of her. Why does she want to fall asleep in Maria’s arms every night, and wake up to her face every morning? Her mother had told her stories of love like this, but she had just met Maria. Love cannot develop this quickly...can it?  
After leaving Natalia’s rooms in the morning, Maria wandered aimlessly around the city. Passing some begging kids, she gives them one of the loaves she stole from the palace the day before. Helping the people of her city is something she tries to always do, whether it be the starving kids, the old blind man, or the tavern owner Sue. Maria knows her city and her city knows her, so why does everything feel different today? It surely doesn’t have anything to do with the thoughts of Natalia that won’t leave her mind, no, of course not.  
\---  
Natalia walks into the ballroom a vision to behold, as always. King Romanova takes her hand in his and guides her to the center of the room where a young gentleman in fine clothes awaits. Internally groaning the entire time and cursing her life, Natalia forces a smile onto her face and plays the part she has been trained to since birth.  
The evening passes by agonizingly slowly for Natalia, forced to endure the suitor’s promises of riches, glory, and a life free of making decisions should she choose him. When he got to the part about how much money her father would require for her hand she had to stop herself from getting sick. Excusing herself to the dance floor, Natalia began to do the only thing that made her feel good, dance.  
When the band caught sight of her beginning her routine, they picked up the tempo. Going harder than she had in a very long time, even harder because she knew Maria would be watching, Natalia danced with ferocity and speed. Coming down from the last turn, Natalia stood with her shoulders back and head held high, sweat glistening on her skin and hair beginning to come undone.  
The applause was immediate, as always, but in her state she had no thought for those around her. When her suitor tried to approach her she held up her hand no and shook her head. Making a beeline for her father, she told him she would be retiring to her rooms for the night. At first reluctant, it was rather early, he then relented upon assuming she was tired from the dance.  
As Natalia slipped away from the party, so did Maria.  
\---  
Natalia walked into her rooms and locked the door behind her. Running to her bedchamber she could feel the physical relief upon seeing Maria.   
“Hey there” said Maria with a small smile, “hell of a dance.”  
Chuckling, “That it was. I knew you were watching, I couldn’t let you down.”  
“Well you most certainly did not.”  
Both Maria and Natalia were standing apart from each other, running their thoughts from the previous day through their minds, analyzing their feelings for this woman in front of them.   
Taking the first steps, Natalia reached out with her arm to grasp Maria’s hand, but stopped halfway there and made a face.  
“What? What’s wrong?” Maria said, worried.  
Laughing, “I’m all sweaty. I can’t touch you until I take a bath, that wouldn’t be proper.”  
“Oh wow… How very different our worlds are princess. I haven’t had a bath in quite a while, I actually don’t know if I’ve ever had a proper one.” Now Maria was starting to get self conscious, something she never did normally.   
Sensing this, Natalia reached across the rest of the way and tugged her hand, “come on then, follow me.”  
Trusting Natalia, Maria followed her without question. Walking from Natalia’s bedchamber to her bathroom, Maria took in the sights. Everything was ornate, and there was more gold than she had ever seen in her life. When they got to the bathroom though, nothing compared to the tub. Huge, claw footed, the tub had detailed carvings of the gods of old on the side, and muted paints all throughout. Now it was Natalia’s turn to be self conscious.  
“You can bathe with me if you’d like. The tub is big enough for both of us comfortably, and you were saying that you’ve never had a true proper bath. Well, what better way to do that than in here, with me. Well not with me if you don’t want to. If you think it’d be weird that’s fine, I was just offering…” Natalia was starting to babble.  
“I… would like that.”  
Still holding hands, the girls walked over to the edge of the tub. Natalia reached down and turned on the tap, watching as hot water filled the tub. Looking at Natalia, unsure of herself, Maria did not know how to navigate this situation. She purposefully tried to stay in situations she can manage, but somehow being with Natalia made her willing to try new things and be vulnerable.  
Natalia slowly turned away from Maria, then glanced back over her shoulder. “Will you undo me?”  
With slightly shaking hands Maria does as she is asked, exposing the bare skin of Natalia’s back. Thinking just how exquisite she is, Maria follows the path of Natalia’s dress to the floor. As more skin is exposed, Maria finds it both harder and all the more necessary to look away. When Natalia turns back around full front and begins taking down her hair though, Maria cannot resist. Sweeping her eyes up and down Natalia, she follows the curves of her hips, the defined muscles of her entire body from years of dancing, her breasts that are just the right size.   
“Wow”  
“Oh, wow is it?” Natalia said cheekily.  
Not realizing she had been speaking aloud, Maria inwardly kicks herself. “Um, no… I mean, yes… I mean… Uh, you’re beautiful.”  
“How very eloquent of you.” Natalia says as she reaches down for the hem of Maria’s shirt. Maria cannot say a thing, she just swallows and half shrugs. Pulling Maria’s shirt over her head, Natalia tosses it to the floor, taking in all that she sees. Maria’s arms are skinny but toned, her abdominal muscles very prominent, a v-cut going down her hips. Her entire torso was marred by scars though. Running her hands over what looked like a bite mark, Natalia allowed her question to show on her face.   
“I will tell you my story once we are in the water, you probably want to be sitting for it.” Maria says it with pain in her voice.  
Running the back of her hand down Maria’s cheek, Natalia nods and continues her previous undressing task. Reaching down, Natalia unbuttons Maria’s trousers and begins to slowly slide them down her body. As more skin is exposed, Maria can’t help but to shiver, and Natalia can’t help but to notice even more scars. Stepping out of her trousers, Maria kicks them to the side, now every bit as bare as Natalia.  
“Come on, step in” Natalia grabs Maria’s hand and leads her into the water. Slowly lowering herself into the water, Maria finds herself growing accustomed to the sensation. “This is actually quite pleasant.”  
“I’m glad you think so” Natalia remarks as she settles opposite Maria, legs somewhat intertwined.  
“So.”  
“So…”  
“My story, would you like to hear it? I’ve only hinted at it before now.” Maria makes good on her earlier statement.  
Sitting up and reaching across for Maria’s hand, Natalia gave her a hard look. “I would love to hear it, but only if you are ready to tell it.”  
“I’ll never be more ready than I am right now. I also don’t think I’ll ever feel more safe than I do right now…” Maria squeezed Natalia’s hand. “But once I start you can’t interrupt, okay? Some parts may be hard for me, and I don’t think I can keep it up if this is a conversation.”  
Natalia nods, “I promise not to interrupt, I understand.”  
“Well, then here goes nothing…

I was born in my mother’s apartment when she was 15. Her family was one of modest means, but not poor. Her father, my grandfather, was a tailor- he made enough to always feed his wife and only daughter. His only problem was that he didn’t have a son, he had no one to pass on his business to.   
This problem seemed to solve itself though when a handsome and charismatic young man appeared at his storefront one day asking for an apprenticeship. My grandfather should have been suspicious of the newcomer, right? But he wasn’t. From all the accounts I have heard the young man, whose name was Viktor, was so persuasive he put everyone at ease.  
The apprenticeship started immediately, and Viktor not only learned quickly, but was great with the customers. Many women began going to the shop just to look at Viktor’s handsome face, and many men came either for the same reason or to hear his stories. Viktor was also great with my grandfather, having his ear on all matters. It was no surprise then when my grandfather named Viktor his successor and heir after just two months of knowing him.  
Not long after his announcement, my grandfather began to fall ill. Viktor cared for him and kept the shop running and his family fed until he was dead. My grandmother was devastated, as was my mother, who just had her 15th birthday two days before.  
After my grandfather died, Viktor allowed my mother and grandmother to live with him in my grandfather’s apartment. Unbeknownst to them though, Viktor had begun to use cheap materials and was stealing customers money. Soon he began to woo my mother, promising her a life of adventure and luxury. After a short time of this, Viktor took her to bed. He used her this way for months, making no good on his promises. He spent his days out in the shop or out in town, and then came home to lay with my mother. He was not loving, he used her like a piece of trash.  
My grandmother soon saw what was happening and protested. She threatened Viktor and unleashed her anger upon him, but he just kicked her out on the curb of HIS apartment. My mother then protested, but he forbid her to go.  
In his business, Viktor was on the verge of losing everything he had built up. His drive for money had people starting to see his fraud, and even his charisma couldn’t keep them all placated. In another month he had closed shop, and my mother was pregnant. With me.  
The landlord kicked them out a few weeks later, and they moved into a little dirty hole in the wall apartment. Why didn’t my mom leave him? Well what would she do instead? She was a pregnant 15 year old girl with no trade or skill, if she left all she could hope for was prostitution.  
Viktor then turned fully to the con and crime business, stealing money in every way he could. He even began a dog fighting organization. Yeah, my dad was a real class act.  
I was born in those early days of Viktor’s crime. My mom loved me, she gave me everything she could. When Viktor came home raging drunk she would hide me away and take the brunt of his assault. When he didn’t bring home any money for food- spent on booze, whores, who knows what- my mom would give me everything she had. She sold the last things of her old life, she even sold her hair for profit, just so I didn’t die.  
When I was 6 though, she died herself… I don’t remember her with clarity, but I do remember her love. She told me she loved me every day, and used to sing to me at night. I do remember that…” A few silent tears rolled down Maria’s face at this.  
Remembering her promise, Natalia struggled to keep her mouth shut. She finally settled to swim across the tub and curl into Maria’s side, giving her as much physical comfort as she could.  
“So I was left with my dad. For the next years I was his runner, and often played roles in his cons. What better way to get sympathy money than to have a little girl with a deadly disease? Or a broken leg so she wasn’t able to help poor old dad around the house? He got a lot of profit from me, even though all he ever told me was that I was a drain on his life and his purse. Once he said I wasn’t playing the “broken leg” part well enough, so you know what he did? The motherfucker actually broke my leg. That was just the start of it.   
Next came the cuts from “shop accidents”. Viktor would sometimes play a butcher whose daughter was just too clumsy and young to help in the shop. “Look” he used to say, “Look at her cut. I can’t let her keep helping me, I don’t want to lose my only daughter.” Then came the tears, and the sympathy money. He had a favorite knife, I remember it well. 6 inches with a razor sharp edge and serrated piece near the top, that gave me a lot of these…” Maria ran her hands over her scars, lost in the past. All Natalia could do was hold her closer, but tears were running down her face and her heart was breaking.  
“Soon I got older though, and I could no longer play the cute, clumsy little girl. In response to this Viktor made me fetch dogs for him to fight. Those days of dog wrangling were where I truly became me. I had to fight, and fight hard. Dogs are ferocious, I got more than my fair share of bites and scratches. I’d be dead if I hadn’t started to climb.  
I remember my first mission for dogs, I had one cornered in an alleyway- or so I’d thought. Next thing I knew there was a growling behind me and I was the one cornered...I thought I was dead. Something clicked in my mind though and I jumped high and caught a ledge on the alley wall. It was no more than a inch deep, and yet I hung on with my little 12 year old fingers with more strength than I knew I possessed. I hung on for at least an hour with my feet as high as I could pull them until the dogs left, then I dropped down and went home empty-handed.   
Of course Viktor was angry, I think he broke a rib that night...but I had found something he couldn’t take away from me. I had found my inner strength.  
After that I refined both my dog wrangling and fighting skills, and my climbing skills. The dogs made me mentally tough and physically agile and strong, the climbing made me feel free and gave me a dexterity I have seen paralleled nowhere else.  
It was hard going, but when Viktor’s crime ring was busted when I was 15 and he went to prison, I became a lot better off. People who had seen me on the streets helped me as much as they could, but through the physical skills I had learned in the past two years I was able to steal most everything I needed. Food, blankets for the cold nights, a few pieces of clothing… I did what I could to avoid prostitution or death.  
And now I’m here, in a bath with the princess of Russia. You can imagine how different this all is for me…” Maria trailed off, pulling Natalia into her side.  
“I am so sorry you had to go through that. If I could, I would go find that Viktor and put him through more pain than imaginable. Since I can’t though, I will offer you everything I do have and promise you what I will get. I have my money and comforts of course, but I also have my love. I have my love for the beautiful woman in the tree who came into my palace and stole my heart. The girl who grew up too quickly and is stronger than anyone I’ve ever known. The girl with the scars I wish I could kiss away… I have my love for you, Maria.  
I didn’t think it could be true. I had heard rumors of love that blind sighted you by its speed, the kind that came upon you suddenly with no preparation. My mother spoke of it on several occasions, but I didn’t believe until it happened to me over the course of this month seeing you and meeting you.”  
“I don’t know how to love, or be loved. You now know where I come from and why such things are difficult for me, so please Natalia, be patient with me. Please.” Maria finally let a tear slip out of her eye.  
“Of course, my mysterious woman in the tree. Of course.”  
For the next several minutes they were both silent as Natalia scrubbed Maria down. She was slow, methodical, enjoying every second of contact with her skin and yet cringing now that she knew the story behind the scars. Maria had been hurt so badly, and she would do all she could to make it right.  
Once done in the tub, Natalia stood up and held out her hand. Maria took it, slowly rising and then stepping from the tub. Once again, Maria could not take her eyes off of Natalia. Damn, if I keep up like this I’m screwed, thought Maria, tearing her eyes away. In all of her own thoughts though, Maria failed to notice that Natalia was having much the same problem. Natalia raked her eyes over every inch of Maria’s exposed skin, barely stopping herself from reaching out and touching her, kissing her.  
Walking back to Natalia’s rooms wrapped in towels, Maria knew something had just changed between them. No longer were they strangers with an infatuation, no longer were they princess and street rat… They were now equals.   
When Maria fell asleep that night with her arms wrapped around Natalia, she knew that they could never go back. And I don’t want to, she thought as she kissed the top of Natalia’s head.


	4. How to Fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where we hear bad news from the king, and learn a bit more about Natalia.

That night Natalia dreamt of Maria- her beautiful, amazing Maria. Maria came home from work to the house they both shared, far away from the castle and Viktor and everything that troubled them. That wasn’t even the best part though, the best part was how Maria talked to her. Maria showered her with love and praises, making her feel as though she was the only person in the world…  
“Wake up Natalia! Your father wants to see you after breakfast.”  
Natalia begins to open her eyes, still lost in the dream of the woman next to her.  
“Princess, wake up!”  
The pounding on the door increases in frequency, and suddenly Natalia jumps up, fully aware.  
“Maria! Maria, my love, you have to leave.”  
Maria opens her eyes and smiles at Natalia. “Fine, but when can I see you again?”  
“Tonight, dear. No balls, no dancing, just us.” They share an intimate smile. “But right now you must leave!”  
Maria laughs as Natalia tosses her clothes at her, “Alright, alright, I’m leaving.”  
The pounding on the door grows more incessant.  
“I’m awake, I’m awake! Just give me a moment will you?” A muffled hurumph can be heard outside the door.  
By this time Maria is dressed and ready to leave, but before she makes her window exit she pulls Natalia in. Brushing Natalia’s shock of red hair from her face, Maria slowly leans in for a kiss. The kiss was short, merely a peck goodbye, but both women were left dazed by its meaning.  
“Until tonight, my princess…” and with that Maria was gone into the rising sun and Natalia was left standing alone.  
One more knock on the door had Natalia sprinting in its direction, and she threw open the lock in a hurry.  
“Finally, what took you so long?!” The lady in wait entered the room in a huff, “Your father wishes to see you soon.”  
“I’m sorry Valina, but you pulled me from the most wonderful dream!”  
Valina softened at that. “Well alright, but don’t let it happen again! Now. Let’s get to work, you have a big day ahead of you.”  
And with that Valina was off, gathering clothing, taking down Natalia’s hair, running water for a face wash. Natalia began to flash back to her youth, to a time when this morning routine was new and overwhelming.  
\-----  
“Mom, how come I need to wear all these clothes?”  
Her mother smiled down at her in love and amusement, “You’re a princess, Nat, you need to look the part.”  
Natalia thought about that for a moment…  
“Mom, how come my hair has to be so fancy?”  
Once again her mother looked at her through loving eyes, “Your hair is an accessory like any other, Nat. We make our hair ‘fancy’, as you said it, to complement the rest of our appearance.”  
Natalia was silent, but only for a second.  
“Mom? I don’t want to be a princess if I have to be this fancy.”  
Her mother chuckled in amusement and lowered herself to Natalia’s level.  
“My dearest little Natalia, I know how your heart yearns for excitement and how when you are stationary you feel as though you are caged...but there is no more important job than being a princess. You will get to lead the people, get to feel their joy and pain as if it was your own, and you will become all the better for it. I know this may all seem pointless to you now, but one day when you stand in front of the beautiful people of Russia, you will serve as an inspiration for them all.”  
\-----  
Natalia snapped back to reality with the tightening of her corset. Well mom, she thought, I think I can still be an inspiration while being able to breathe…  
“There. Done!” Valina stepped back and admired her handiwork. “As beautiful as your mother…”  
Natalia was touched by Valina’s words and pulled her in for a brief hug. “Thank you Valina, I know she meant a lot to you.”  
“Oh, I’m just being sentimental. It happens as you age you know! Now off with you, go to the dining hall and find that father of yours!”  
With that final shove off Natalia left through her chamber doors and into the palace beyond. The walk to the dining hall took five minutes, and when she entered she saw her father already seated at the head of the table.  
“Natalia! It’s about time you arrived, I should have Valina start waking you earlier. Anyway, come sit, I have something important to discuss with you.”  
Natalia, unsure what the “important” discussion was going to be, made her way to her father’s left side and sat. Reaching for a pastry, she took a bite before asking, “What did you need to discuss father?”  
Seeming suddenly unsure of himself, the king shifted in his seat.  
“Well, dear, you have grown into a fine young woman, beautiful, and skilled of course…”  
Growing more confident as he spoke, the king continued. “But I have grown tired of your waiting to choose a suitor. It has been several months, I have invited many fine men, wealthy, successful men with just the right family names, and still you have decided to ignore the wishes of your father. Therefore, you have left me with no choice but one; If you do not choose a suitor as your future king by one month from tonight I will be forced to choose for you.”  
Natalia sat in stunned silence, her mind racing a mile a minute…  
“You see, I am doing you a kindness, Natalia. I know many noble men who do not even give their daughters a choice, they wed them off to someone they have never met. Yes, I think I am being very kind in this matter, too kind perhaps. I know that you cannot rule without a man at your side, and I only want what’s best for you, I truly do.”  
Natalia still had not moved.  
“Well, that’s that. You will choose a man for yourself, or I will choose for you. I’m tired of these games, Natalia, and you need a man who can control you. One month’s time, and that’s final.”  
Natalia was overcome with dread, she felt sick to her stomach. How? How could this be? She needed to get out of there.  
“Very well father. May I be excused?” She kept her face perfectly neutral, she had been trained in court for years on the art of controlling her expressions.  
Taken aback slightly at her lack of response, the king nonetheless nodded his head in approval.  
Rising from the table, Natalia took great care to walk slowly from the room, but once she was a hallway away she could no longer take it. One tear rolled its way down her cheek, then another, and soon a cascade of tears flowed freely down her face. Natalia broke into a run, passing several startled servants on her way to her chambers. Crashing through the doors she fell against the wall, clutching her chest and sobbing with all her might. Oh Maria, she thought, what are we going to do?  
Natalia cried for an hour...cried for herself, for Maria, and for the hopelessness of her situation. She could not see how life could be so unfair. How could someone as amazing and sweet as Maria have been subjected to the cruelty of Viktor? How could her own mother, the kind and loving woman that was her mother, have died an early death? But most importantly, how could the love she had just found with Maria already be under siege?  
“No.” Natalia said aloud.  
“No,” she repeated.  
One more time, with determination in her voice, “No!”  
Maria was everything she had ever dreamed for, she wasn’t going to let someone take their love away, not even if that person was her father. In that moment, with her tears slowly drying on her face and the knot in her chest beginning to subside, Natalia made up her mind. No matter what happened in one month’s time, she was not leaving Maria. She couldn’t, and she would fight to the bitter end if that’s what it took.  
\-----  
The rest of Natalia’s day was quiet when compared to the morning hours. She went on a walk in the gardens, caught up on some reading, and wondered what Maria was doing beyond the wall. When the sun began to set her heartbeat quickened, since the coming of night meant that Maria would soon be in her arms.  
Rushing inside, Natalia encountered Valina on her way to her chambers.  
“Ah, princess, would you like to take your supper now?”  
“Oh, umm...not tonight Valina, I think I’m going to retire early.” Natalia tried unsuccessfully to continue on her path to her chambers.  
“Retire early? Nonsense! Come, a young woman must eat if she is to stay well.” Valina took her hand and began to lead her to the kitchen.  
Digging in her heels, Natalia protested, “I really am rather tired Vali-”  
Cutting her off, “Nonsense I say! I have been with you since your birth, and never once have I known you to skip a meal. It makes one wonder what’s in your chamber that you want so badly…”  
Sensing that this conversation was taking a turn into dangerous territory, Natalia quickly cut in, “Always the worrier Valina! I can assure you, nothing secret is in my chamber at this moment in time. I really am tired.”  
Valina raised an eyebrow in suspicion, having known Natalia for long enough to sense something amiss.  
“BUT, if it means so much to you, I will eat a small supper before retiring for the night.”  
Mostly appeased, Valina smiled in satisfaction and led Natalia to the kitchen where she had the cooks bring out a small dumpling dish and a warm tea. Not realizing until then how hungry she actually was, Natalia ate quickly and gratefully.  
“Thank you” said Natalia to the cooks.  
“And thank you as well Valina, I know you only want what’s best for me. But now I actually am going to retire to bed.”  
“Very well, let me accompany you.”  
Together they walked back to Natalia’s chambers in relative silence. They had known each other so long that sometimes words just didn’t need to be spoken.  
Arriving at the door, Valina followed Natalia inside and went to prepare a bed warmer by the fireplace. When she brought the warmer to Natalia’s bed she could’ve sworn she saw a face at the window, but when she looked again it was gone. Perhaps it was just my imagination, Valina thought.  
“Have a lovely night, princess, I will be around for you in the morning.”  
“Thank you Valina.”  
Natalia followed Valina to the door, and promptly locked it upon her exit. She sighed, she knew Valina was well intentioned, but her forced supper has postponed her meeting with Maria for far longer than she had wished.  
Natalia ran back into her bedchamber, and to her immense delight, Maria was already inside. Standing there in that moment, Natalia was at once taken aback by her beauty. Maria’s hair was messy from the wind and the lopsided smile on her face was just right, and when Natalia looked at her the moonlight framed her body in a halo of light… Natalia had never seen anything so beautiful. “Wow.”  
“Oh, wow is it?” Maria chuckled, flipping the tables on their earlier bathing exchange.  
Natalia flushed, embarrassed, but when Maria quickly closed the distance between them and drew their lips together, all thoughts of embarrassment left her mind. In fact, all thoughts of anything left her mind, and all she could think of was the way Maria felt pressed against her body, and how she wanted to feel that every day of her life.  
Maria pulled back after a long, slow few seconds. “Nat, what’s wrong?”  
Natalia reached up and wiped away the tear that had found its way onto her cheek. Giving Maria a sad smile, she replied, “I love you so much Maria, more than I can bear. I can’t lose you…”  
Concerned, Maria pulled her closer.  
“Why would you ever lose me?”  
A few more tears escaped Natalia’s control, “My father spoke with me today. If I don’t choose a suitor to be my husband by one month from today, then he will choose one for me…”  
“Oh Nat, I’m so sorry.” Maria began slowly rubbing circles on Natalia’s back.  
“It’s just...he can’t...it’s just not fair! I won’t let him take away what we have. Whatever it takes I’m going to fight to keep you. He can try to force me into a marriage, he can tell me how much I disappoint him, but he can’t make me stop loving you. I don’t know what’s going to happen in one month, but whatever does I won’t lose you...I can’t.” With that last broken declaration, the tears from earlier began to resurface. Not with the same intensity, but it was still as though a river poured down Natalia’s face.  
Kissing away the tears, Maria guided Natalia toward her bed. Sitting her down on the edge, Maria kneeled in front of her. “I can’t either. I know I don’t have much to offer you, I have no wealth or status, I don’t even have a trade to fall back on, but I do love you Natalia. And I can’t lose that.”  
“What are we going to do Maria?”  
“I don’t know. I suppose we have a month of enjoying each other’s love before we have to make that decision though… Let’s not think too much about it until we get closer to that time, okay? I just want to be here with you.”  
Smiling, Natalia nodded. “I know whatever comes at us we can take it. As my mother used to tell me, ‘there are many kinds of fighting in this world, Nat, and with love and patience you can master them all’...”  
Climbing up onto the bed, Maria sat with her legs crossed facing Natalia. Natalia mimicked her position a second later.  
“Tell me about your mother. She was a fighter?”  
Natalia smiled as the memories bubbled to the surface.  
“Oh yes. Perhaps not in the conventional sense, but in every aspect of her life she fought tooth and nail to get her way. Of course, she did it through love and patience, as she said, so even those who had just been blindsided and beaten badly by her felt no malice in their hearts for their loss. I think I was my mother’s toughest fight.  
From the day I could walk I was running, and from the day I could talk I was asking questions. That’s what my mother used to say, anyway. I remember when I was little I used to sneak off to go watch the guards train in the courtyard. You see, while my mother fought through diplomacy and love, acts of physical aggression and violence always held my interest better. One day, after I had been sneaking off for a week to watch them train, practicing their moves in the shadows and learning all I could, my mother found me. I was terrified. She had always told me about my proper role as a princess, and how you could win any fight you needed through love and patience, and here I was fighting like a guard in the shadows. I was sure I was in for it.”  
Natalia laughed at that.  
“And were you? I mean, was she mad?”  
“No, not at all. She gave me a stern talking to about how shadows were no place for a princess, but in the end I think she knew that outright fighting against me wasn’t a situation that she could win in this case. So she used her love, and her patience, and we came to a compromise. If I attended dance five days of the week and devoted myself to that, then for the remaining two days I could train with the guards, OUT of the shadows. I was beyond excited, even though at that point in my life I hated dance. That’s the funny thing about my mother, her style of fighting was graceful, and even though I knew I had just been beaten, I was beside myself with happiness about it. So I danced, and I fought, and soon enough, with my mother’s wisdom and guidance, I saw how similar they were. Everything was a fight to my mother, and just because I used to only like the physical kind doesn’t mean that her philosophy didn’t begin to win me over. That’s how I go about life now, fighting my way through, and though I don’t always have quite the love or patience my mother did, I do the best I can.”  
“That’s beautiful Nat. Did your father approve of you training with the guards?”  
“Ah. Well, no. That was a bit of an issue. When he first saw me with the guards, wearing trousers and throwing punches, he was beyond furious. You should have heard him later that night, ‘No daughter of mine will be allowed to dress like a man! You are a princess Natalia, you have no place swinging a sword and getting dirty. Fighting, ha! Fighting is for men, fighting is for kings and princes, not for princesses or queens. Just look at your mother, she has never fought or swung a sword in her life, she knows the proper place of a woman!...’ on and on he went like that for at least ten minutes, until my mother intervened.  
You see, he made a grave miscalculation when he said my mother did not fight, and he was just about to happily be beaten by her. I don’t remember exactly what she said, but in another ten minutes my father was saying how important it was to have a well-rounded princess who could appreciate the work of the guards, and how being capable of self-defense may even make her more profitable in marriage. My mother sure was something.  
When she died I had been dancing and training for several years, and I was excellent at both. For five days out of the week I flew across the floor at dance, and for the other two I threw grown men to the floor at guard training. I was happy, but her death changed everything. I didn’t realize just how much my mother fought my father until after her influence was removed from his life. The change was almost immediate. I wasn’t allowed to train with the guards anymore, it was no longer the advantage my mother had convinced him of, it was once again just an ‘improper’ place for a woman. I argued with him, and he banished me to my quarters for three days. Even Alexei, the commander of the guards, lobbied on my behalf. I had grown close with him over our years together, and I think he held a special place in his heart for me, his star pupil… But what good did that get him? My father had him fired and kicked off of palace grounds by the end of the day. I never did get to tell him I’m sorry.  
And, well, that’s been my life since then. I lack the skill of my mother in dealing with my father, and he has grown worse with each passing year because of it. I still fight in secret, of course, but never as much as I used to for fear of being caught. I fear my mother would be upset with me for returning to the shadows, but I also hope that she would understand that I’m fighting in my own way. Oh, I miss her Maria.”  
Maria reached across the divide and held onto Natalia’s hand. “She sounds like a lovely person, it’s no wonder she produced such a wonderful daughter.”  
Natalia lifted Maria’s hand to her lips and planted a soft kiss on the knuckle.  
“Thank you Maria. For listening, for being here, for everything.”  
“Of course, always.”  
\-----  
And with that, they sank to sleep, sharing a few slow kisses along the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the long gap between these chapters, but it's been a crazy year for me. Between boot camp and school, my writing has unfortunately been shelved for a while. I've had an idea of where this story is going for a long time, now it's just up to me to put my fingers on a keyboard and write it. Let me know what you thought about this chapter, and just a heads up, the next few chapters are probably going to increase in rating a bit.


	5. Our Future

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natalia and Maria deepen their relationship and begin to plan for the future. Meanwhile, the King does some planning of his own.

The next month passed by in a blur for both young women. They slowly grew closer, both emotionally and physically. One week before the King’s deadline, Natalia sensed tension from Maria during their regular nightly visit.  
“What is it, love?”  
Maria turned her head away, looking down.  
“I don’t know. This. Us. I can’t stop thinking about your father, and I know I said we shouldn’t worry about it until we have to, but we’re going to have to soon, because I can’t lose you, and I sure as hell can’t see you with someone else, I just… I don’t know Nat. I don’t know what to do.”  
Natalia was speechless for a moment, but then a devilish glint entered her eyes. Taking Maria’s hand in hers, Natalia pulled her up from her spot on the bed and walked her to a lone chair in the corner.  
“Nat, what are you doing?”  
Natalia looked Maria in the eye as she brought herself to straddle Maria’s lap, then lowered her lips to Maria’s at an agonizingly slow pace, hovering just short of making contact.  
“Cheering you up. Distracting you. Loving you.”  
Maria groaned, already feeling the heat pool in her lower abdomen. Then, just as Maria leaned up to capture Natalia’s lips in her own, Natalia jumped off the chair and several feet back.  
“Hey!”  
Natalia only laughed. “I said I was going to cheer you up, and I intend to do it right.”  
Maria’s confusion was evident on her face, causing Natalia to laugh even more, a throaty, carefree sound.  
Taking another step back, Natalia started to dance. Slowly, sensually, and VERY different then what Maria was used to.  
“Natalia, what...?”  
Maria trailed off as she saw where Natalia’s hands were travelling. Natalia was slowly undoing her dress, rocking her hips while she did, and giving Maria a part amused, part lustful look.  
Stepping out of her dress, Natalia stepped between Maria’s legs. “Like I said, I’m doing it right…”  
Kneeling down, Natalia grabbed Maria’s hand and guided it to the shoulder of her slip, making Maria drag it down as she did. Maria swallowed hard as Natalia’s pale skin was revealed, inch by inch. Natalia then took Maria’s other hand and repeated the process on the opposite side. Once both shoulders were unveiled, Natalia placed Maria’s hands on the sides of her slip and had Maria grab the material. Natalia rose from her position between Maria’s legs, leaning into her body as she rose, watching with hooded eyes as Maria took in the sight before her.  
Once fully standing, Natalia leaned over Maria, hands on her shoulders and breasts just inches from her face. Then, moving at glacial speed, Natalia lowered herself onto Maria’s lap, straddling her as she did. Natalia leaned back and looked into Maria’s eyes, searching. Smiling, she said “I think I succeeded,” then quickly ground down against Maria’s hips, eliciting a gasp from Maria in return.  
Maria threw her head back, biting her lip.  
Natalia rocked her hips once again, causing Maria to firmly grab her hips and pull her closer, crashing their lips together at the same time. What had started slowly was now rapidly picking up the pace, and very suddenly Natalia decided that Maria had FAR too many clothes on. Reaching down for the hem of her shirt, Natalia impatiently yanked upward, causing Maria to release a laugh and help get it off.  
Maria reached down and wrapped her arms around Natalia’s waist, hoisting her up in one swift motion. Walking Natalia to the bed as she attacked Maria’s neck with bites and kisses was hardly an easy task, but somehow Maria managed it and was soon slamming Natalia’s back into the mattress.  
Releasing her hold on Maria’s neck, Natalia whispered into Maria’s ear, “If you don’t take me, right here and now, I’m going to go insane.” That was all Maria needed, and spurred on by Natalia’s moans and gasps, she spent the next hour learning every way to make Natalia scream.  
By the end of the night, it was safe to say that Natalia had successfully completed her mission of distraction.  
…  
All too soon though, the King’s ultimatum loomed only two days away, and this time it was Natalia who was panicking.  
Breath coming quickly, Natalia spoke at a breakneck pace.  
“Maria, it’s in two days. Two days. I don’t know what I’m going to do, what I’m going to say. I can’t tell him the truth, he’ll lock me up. I can’t submit to his demands, he’ll make me marry some awful man I could never love. I know I’m panicking, but I don’t know what to do. I’ve never been in a situation like this before. I wish my mother were here, she could tell me what to do. Or maybe not, what if she would have agreed with him? Oh my god Maria what do I do? My life is falling apart, I can’t do this. If he makes me marry some man I’m going to kill myself. I can’t live like that, I can’t be trapped, I can’t be away from you. I’d rather die, I’d rather throw myself from that window, or impale myself on the guard’s sword, or drink poison, or-”  
Maria had heard more than enough. Rushing across the room, she firmly clamped her hand over Natalia’s mouth. “No.”  
Natalia tried to mumble through her hand. “No.”  
“Stop speaking, now. Okay?” Maria looked at her with pleading eyes.  
Natalia took a deep breath through her nose, visibly calming. She nodded. Maria relaxed and released her hold on Natalia. Sitting on the edge of the bed a few steps away, Maria put her head in her hands. Natalia stayed standing, unsure of what to do.  
She didn’t have to wait long before Maria started talking.  
“Never. NEVER talk like that again. Do you understand?”  
Without even waiting for an answer, Maria continued.  
“You are all I have in this world. The only one that makes life worth living, and you’re talking about killing yourself?!?”  
Natalia cringed at Maria’s tone, realizing her colossal mistake.  
Maria took a deep breath, visibly shaking, before continuing. “I love you, Natalia. I truly do, and I know what’s happening right now is hard, and you’re scared, and I get that you’re panicked, but please don’t ever talk like that again. Please.” Her voice breaking at the end, Maria finally looked up at Natalia, and Natalia was heartbroken to see the tears on her face.  
“My Maria, my love, I’m sorry. You’re right, of course you’re right.” Taking Maria’s hand in hers, Natalia continued. “I spoke in haste, in fear and panic. I promise I will never say those things again, I will never even think those things again. I love you, more than anything.”  
Natalia lowered herself to sit beside Maria, putting an arm around her back.  
“Oh Maria, what are we going to do?”  
Maria shifted to look at Natalia. “Well…I had a thought. It’s not much of one, but…it’s all I’ve got.”  
Natalia perked up a bit at Maria’s statement. “What is it? Tell me, please.”  
“You could come with me. We could run from all of this, together. I’m friends with a tavern owner named Sue, she would probably let us hide there for a while, as long as we helped out and did our fair share. Disguising you wouldn’t be too hard, and if you brought some jewelry with you we could live off of the money for a while until we found some kind of real work. I know it’s not glamorous, and it’s hardly even a plan at all, but I just don’t want to lose you.”  
Maria hung her head.  
“It’s selfish of me, to ask you to run away and hide, to live the life of a peasant…but you’re talking about death, and I can’t lose you. Would you be willing to try this, with me? Leave this life behind? I’m sorry I can’t offer more…”  
Natalia remained silent for a moment, before moving very suddenly to grasp Maria’s chin and pull her gaze up until their eyes met. “When are you going to stop short selling yourself? Of course I’ll go with you, and yes, I do know what that entails. It entails leaving behind my life of luxury, of easy money and food behind. It entails wearing dirty clothes and disguising myself and working at a job I’ve never done in my life. But more importantly, it entails leaving behind this life of expectation and masks, and starting a life with the woman I love more than I ever thought was possible.”  
Natalia leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on Maria’s lips. Smiling slightly, she asked “so when do we leave?”  
…  
One day later, the night before the big decision arrived, and the King was pulling out all the stops. Tonight’s ball was to be a splendor, with live music, wonderful dancing, and the most esteemed guests in all of Russia. One guest in particular had the King in high spirits.  
Prince Chekov, of a neighboring kingdom, had finally decided to come see the famed princess for himself. Handsome, wealthy, and extremely like-minded to the king in all things, but especially the proper role of women, the King was certain Chekov was the one to win Natalia’s heart.  
Little did he know, that at the same time he was ensuring the preparations were made for the ball, his famed daughter was planning her escape with her commoner lover. Maria brought boys’ trousers and a shirt for Natalia, since she was rather small and they would aid in blending in once they left the castle walls. Natalia packed a bag full of all the jewelry she could fit, relishing in the thought of never being forced to wear it again. The plan was for Natalia to return from the ball, for both of them to get some sleep and be well rested, then to sneak out of the window in the early hours of the morning when the grounds were least guarded. It was a simple plan, but a good one, and Natalia went into the ball with high spirits.  
Only to have them crushed upon seeing the man her father had procured for the evening.  
20 years her senior, lavishly adorned, and wearing his crown like it was a pedestal on which he rose above the world, Prince Chekov was a horrible man. It didn’t take expert skills of deduction to figure that out, and Natalia’s initial impression was only confirmed when her father presented her to him.  
“Ah, this is the lovely daughter I have heard so much about. She is definitely a beauty, your majesty, a credit to your line. I think she would produce lovely children as well, she certainly has the hips for it. Tell me, sir, I’ve heard she is a talented dancer. Is there truth to that claim?”  
Natalia barely kept the fake smile plastered on her face. Being talked about like a piece of livestock for sale really wasn’t what she envisioned for the evening, but since her father seemed charmed by this newcomer’s approach she would bear the offense. She only had to make it until the morning, then she would be free of this life forever.  
Natalia came back to the present to hear her father tell Chekov, “Of course she will demonstrate for you. Natalia, dear, go dance for the prince. He would like to see a demonstration of your renowned skill.”  
Gritting her teeth, Natalia dipped into a small curtsy before making her way to the dance floor. The dance was not her usual fire, but the years of practice had made her good enough to be the best even when she was hardly trying. Anyway, when the dance ended she was still met with loud applause, and the appraising eyes of Prince Chekov.  
Coming to meet her once she exited the dance floor, the King resumed his attempt to sell her to the Prince. After a few generic comments about her world renowned skill and years of training, Chekov interrupted the King.  
“Your majesty, if it pleases you, I do not need to hear more. I will take your daughter as my bride, she truly does live up to the stories.”  
Not even noticing Natalia’s shocked face, the King replied, “Oh, what splendid news! We will make the public announcement tomorrow, and then you and I can negotiate a dowry. How about you and my daughter spend the evening getting to know one another, then perhaps take an early morning stroll? I used to go with her mother, it truly is wonderful. Natalia, what do you say to this fantastic news?”  
Natalia pulled herself together, barely. Knowing the plans she had to escape in the morning were in jeopardy, she spoke as respectfully as she could. “Father, I believe it is a wonderful opportunity. I would, however, like to spend an evening to myself before making my decision. You said I had until tomorrow, and I promise you that tomorrow at breakfast you will know my decision with absolute certainty. Prince Chekov, you are a remarkable man, and I hope one day of delay will not ruin me for you. Good night, sir.”  
Dipping into a fuller curtsy, Natalia turned and fled from the ballroom, leaving a very confused King and angry Prince in her wake.  
…  
Breathing a sigh of relief upon entering her chambers, Natalia threw the lock shut and sank to the floor, exhausted from the effort of having to deal with Chekov. Maria appeared before her in a moment, worry etched across her features.  
“Are you okay, Nat?”  
Smiling up at Maria, wondering how she got so lucky to find a catch like her, Natalia sighed. “I am now”  
Pulling Maria down for a kiss, Natalia let the drama of the night leave her system, and in its place arose a desire.  
Separating herself from Maria, Natalia rose, walked toward the bed and turned around. Slowly and methodically she began to undress, undoing the buttons on the side of her elaborate outfit, speaking as she did so. “I know you wanted to get a lot of rest tonight…but I was hoping I could get you to reconsider.” The dress pooled at her feet. “You see, I just endured an entire night of torture, and the only thing that got me through was the thought of you. Here. On my bed.” She moved the slip off her shoulders. “Screaming my name.” The slip joined the dress on the floor.  
Faced with a completely naked Natalia, Maria nearly fell to the floor, weak with desire. Finding her voice, she shakily spoke, “I think…I think I can reconsider.”  
Gulping as Natalia walked toward her, Maria lost all coherent thought, focused only on the beauty before her. Natalia forcefully grabbing the waistband of her trousers and yanking her toward the bed was all it took for Maria to put rest in the furthest reaches of her mind. Her back falling against the mattress, Maria could think of nothing but the feeling of Natalia on top of her. She barely registered the loss of her clothes, coming to just long enough to think how lucky she was to get this woman for the rest of her life.  
…  
Unaware of what was happening with the object of their sale, the King and Prince were in intense negotiations.  
“Now, Chekov, I did give her until tomorrow to make her decision. I assure you that when tomorrow comes we will make the announcement and she will be your bride shortly after. I will not have it otherwise.”  
Chekov shook his head. “Your majesty, I respect you keeping your word, but in this instance I must object. I came here in my finest clothes, representing my respectable house, and carrying a promise of a good life, all for your daughter. I cannot tolerate the disrespect she just showed me, or you. Not in a future wife of mine. I do not see the point of one more night, and I think it is dangerous allowing her to assert this level of control over men. If she does not accept my offer tonight, I will rescind it completely.”  
The King was silent for a moment, before sighing. “You are right, of course you are right. This is one of the reasons why I believe you are such a good match for her, if I am being honest. She has a strong will about her, and since I lost her mother I believe I my judgement has been clouded in how to deal with her. Come, let’s go get her now.”  
“It takes a great man to admit his faults, especially in matters of family. I will care for your daughter and provide her the stability she needs, that I promise you. Our children will live up to your legacy.”  
Clasping hands in agreement, the King and Prince set off toward Natalia’s chamber with their new resolve.  
…  
“Nat…”  
“Not good enough.”  
“Nat.”  
“You can do better.”  
“I swear to god Nat…”  
“Hmmm, we’ll see.”  
Natalia renewed her thrusting into Maria, bringing her over the edge she had been cruelly keeping her at.  
“Nat!” Maria screamed as she came, fingers leaving red lines on Natalia’s back.  
Natalia kissed her neck, slowly bringing her back down to earth.  
“There. That was better, wasn’t it?”  
“Oh my god Nat, you’re insufferable.”  
“And you love me for it.”  
“Yes, yes I do.”  
Growling low in her throat, Maria suddenly and forcefully flips them over. “But now it’s my turn.”  
Laughing with pure joy, Natalia starts speaking.  
“I mean, to be fair, I did clearly outline my expectations from you.”  
Maria started trailing kisses down her body.  
“I believe I said I wanted you a)in my bed, and b)screaming my name.”  
Maria bites a nipple, hard.  
Struggling to speak now, “You have to…admit…”  
Maria reached her thighs, spreading them apart.  
“you weren’t exactly…”  
Bringing her mouth down to Natalia’s center, Maria draws one long, slow line with her tongue.  
“screaming…”  
…  
Reaching the door to Natalia’s bedchambers, the King goes to open it, and is shocked to find it locked. Looking at the Prince assuredly, he draws a skeleton key from his pocket. Being the King did come with a few perks, and unparalleled access to all of the castle rooms was one of them.  
Unlocking the door, they burst through together, attempting to present a unified front. Then stopped dead in their tracks.  
…  
Maria picked up the tempo, adding a hand into the mix.  
Natalia gripped her hair, pulling hard as she neared her climax.  
One final thrust was all it took and Natalia cried out in ecstasy, just in time to hear the door slam open and a key clatter to the floor.  
…  
-  
…  
-  
…  
Chekov was the first to act. “Guards! Guards!”  
The King snapped out of his stupor to join in. Rushing forward, they each went for Maria as she pushed Natalia behind her. Grabbing her simultaneously, they wrestled her arms behind her back just as the guards entered the room.  
Seeing the guards, Natalia dropped into a fighting stance, fully confident in her abilities to take them out, even naked. Seeing her intent, the King pulled a small knife from his boot and held it against Maria’s neck.  
“Don’t even think about it, or this one will get it.”  
Maria made eye contact with Natalia, silently mouthing the word “sorry” as she was hauled away by guards.  
Natalia willingly surrendered, was bound by the guards and taken from the room.  
Breathing quickly, a mixture of shock and anger flooding through his system, the King gave orders to the guards. Pointing at Natalia, he said “take this one to the south tower.” As the guards dutifully dragged her away, he pointed to Maria, “and give this rat to the hounds.”


	6. Tavern Trouble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nat and Maria try to get out of their respective predicaments.

Sitting in silence, feeling the cold slowly seep through her cheap sack dress, Natalia was trapped in hell. Nearly one full day passed since her untimely incarceration, and all she can think about is Maria. They should’ve just left at night, guards be damned. She shouldn’t have provoked Chekov, she should’ve known he wouldn’t stand for it. She shouldn’t have invited Maria into her room that night…  
Natalia sighed. No, not that one. She regrets a lot of things, but her relationship with Maria isn’t one of them.  
The turning of a key pulled her from her musings. Sliding back into the corner, she sat in wait.  
The door flew open, and in the doorway stood none other than Prince Chekov. Tensing to spring, Natalia waited for an opening. Chekov quickly shut the door behind him though, and the next words out of his mouth were enough to stop Natalia’s plans to attack.  
“Your lover,” he spat with disgust, “is dead.”  
Natalia said nothing, becoming perfectly still, not fully comprehending what he said.  
“What, nothing to say?” his voice took on a fake pitying tone. “Maybe I should try again. Your lover, your whore, your street rat…is dead. The hounds tore her to shreds, I could hear her screams from across the yard. She died a coward, I don’t think that girl could’ve fought those dogs if her life depended on it. A shame, really. Even though she was a bit skinny, she was still a beauty. I would’ve liked to give her a go.”  
Still, Natalia said nothing, remaining a perfect statue.  
Sighing, Chekov continued. “You won’t die though. No, you won’t be given that grace. The King and I have discussed your situation at length, and we have reached an agreement. We will inform the public that you have had a health scare and will need to remain out of their eye for the unforeseeable future. Your marriage to me will be announced, and even though it breaks from royal tradition, we will say it was a private ceremony. For your health, of course.”  
Chekov was clearly enjoying this. “My coronation, however, will be a very public affair. Then, shortly after the announcement of our wedding, we will announce your pregnancy. You see, I have discussed this with your father, and he is more than willing to allow me to bed you. Your perversion need not be known to the public, and even though you are more of a disgrace than any of your line before you, you can still serve a purpose and produce an heir.”  
Natalia still had not moved or spoken, which began to anger Chekov.  
“I will bed you until you give me a son, maybe two. We have consulted with the physicians and they agree that your perversion only has a chance of being passed on to a daughter. Even though they think it’s a very slight possibility, and that with proper upbringing it can be avoided, it’s still a risk we’re unwilling to take. Any daughter you spawn will be killed immediately. Just like your street rat lover.”  
Chekov stepped closer to Natalia, only a few feet away now. Natalia, for her part, did not move.  
“You will become nothing but a vessel for my future, little girl. I will be King, I will raise our children, I will rule all of Russia…and you will stay in this room for an eternity.”  
Turning to leave, Chekov called over his shoulder, “Enjoy hell, little one.”  
…  
The guards roughly threw Maria to the dirt covered ground, watching as she struggled to breath from the impact. Grabbing her arms, which were bound behind her, the main guard cut through the rope inhibiting her movement. “You’re going to die, but at least you can die fighting” were the words he spoke as he turned to leave the room.  
Coughing, Maria choked out, “And if I live? If I win?”  
Sadly shaking his head as the other guards callously laughed, “Then you would be superhuman…but have my eternal respect. Die well, girl. Die well.”  
With that he left the room, the sound of a bolt sliding into place echoing ominously. Maria took in a shuddering breath and rubbed her wrists as she evaluated her surroundings. The room was long and rectangular, with three walls and what looked like floor to ceiling stables on the fourth side. The walls were made of a rough, jutting stone, and the floor was straw strewn over dirt.   
As Maria surveyed her surroundings, she heard a faint rustling on the other side of one of the stable doors. Barely having time to wonder what it was, the stable door was thrown open from the inside, and Maria saw the body of a viscous looking dog enter the room.   
Then another dog.  
Then another.  
Then another.  
“Fuck.”  
…  
Something about Chekov’s comments didn’t sit right with Natalia, besides the obvious misogynistic diatribe, that is. She didn’t believe Maria would die a coward, especially not in a fight against the hounds, animals she spent a good portion of her life fighting. That didn’t mean Natalia thought Chekov was necessarily lying about Maria’s death, however. Natalia had grown up around those hounds, and had witnessed them in action on numerous occasions. Still, she had hope, and she knew Chekov was a manipulative man. Whether Maria was dead or alive, Natalia needed a way out of this situation, and the first step of that was assessing her surroundings.  
The single window to her room was barred from the inside, but it looked to have been some time since it had been serviced. The areas where the bottom two bars attached to the wall looked to be rusting, and Natalia thought that with a bit of work she could remove them completely. Which would give a space just large enough for a person to fit through. The window being many stories above the ground provided Natalia with only one way of using this piece of information though, and it was a way that she had promised Maria she wouldn’t even think about.  
While Natalia was pondering her options, there was a sound at the door, then the grate where they pushed her food in opened. And the face of Valina looked through.  
“Valina! What are you doing here? Does my father know you’re here?”  
“Hush child, he doesn’t know and I’d much rather keep it that way. I only bribed the guard to let me talk to you for 2 minutes, so I need to speak fast. I wish you had told me about this girl of yours before, I would’ve tried to help. But you need to know that I overheard Chekov and your father speaking and the head guard already gave the report of her death. I’m sorry.”  
Natalia sank to her knees, tears filling her eyes.   
“And I’m even sorrier for this, but there’s more bad news. They plan on breeding you, not just with Chekov, but with anyone who can pay the price and wants a royal child. They were saying awful things about marketing your talent and beauty… Oh dear, I’m so terribly sorry. If only your mother were here, she would know what to do.”  
Valina was crying now, tears openly falling down her face.  
“She would’ve thought I was perverted and sick too. It’s not proper.” Natalia spoke with bitterness and sorrow.  
“Oh child, your mother was more understanding of us than you will ever know.”  
Valina trailed off as the sound of heavy footsteps echoed around the room.  
“Wait, Valina. What do you mean, us?”  
“Let’s just say there’s a reason I never married, child. Now I must be going. He was waiting on the stairs to prevent me from allowing you escape, but if I’m here when he gets back I’ll be locked up to.”  
Blowing Natalia a kiss, “Oh Nat, my little princess…I’m so sorry this happened to you.”  
And with that she swept away from the door, shutting the slot behind her. Sitting in shock, Natalia slowly came to a decision on how to proceed. She couldn’t allow herself to be bred like livestock, or sold like a whore.   
Picking up a small pebble from the corner of the room, Natalia made her way toward the window. “I’m sorry, Maria.”  
…  
One hour later, Natalia placed the second bar quietly on the floor. Hands braced on the windowsill, she took several deep breaths, then resolved herself for the task ahead. Reaching forward and opening the window, she put one leg through the gap and began to slide out.   
Suddenly, “Ow!” was heard from below the window.  
Quickly retracting her leg, Natalia stuck out her head and looked down. Right into the eyes of Maria.  
“Oh my god, Maria! I thought you were dead, they told me you were dead,” Natalia helped Maria clamber inside.  
Maria had several new bite marks on her forearms, and abrasions across one side of her face. The most interesting thing about her appearance was her clothing though, which Natalia recognized to be one of the castle guard uniforms. Folding Maria into her arms, relief flooding through her system, Natalia exclaimed “What happened?!”  
“Four dogs. I won, barely. I earned the respect of a guard who said he would cover for me with the King and Prince, but that was as far as his favor extends. I remembered the King saying they were taking you to the south tower, and I ran into a snoozing guard on the way here. I knocked him out, took his clothes and bag, and started climbing up here. Wait- why were you already coming out of the window?” Maria was out of breath and confused.  
“I…I thought you were dead. They were going to breed me, I couldn’t let that happen.” Natalia’s voice was breaking. “I’m sorry, I know I promised. I just…thought you were dead. I couldn’t-”  
She was cut off by a searing kiss from Maria. “It’s okay. We’re okay. You have nothing to apologize for. But we really need to get out of here.”  
Natalia looked worried, “I can’t climb down the wall, Maria. I don’t even understand how you climbed up…”  
“I told you, I’m good,” Maria smiled ruefully, “But yeah, you’re right. It was almost impossible for me, I’m not even sure if I could make it down safely alone.”  
“Okay, let’s evaluate. What’s in the bag you took from the guard?”  
Maria dumped the contents on the floor and began to sort through them. “Um, knife, flint, bread, about a meter of rope, and I think this is lock picking equipment.”  
Natalia was already moving, she pocketed the knife, grabbed the lock picks and moved to the door of the room.   
“Wait! There are tens of guards between here and the exit, how are we going to get by them?”  
Working on the lock, Natalia smiled slightly as it clicked open. “I’m going to fight them,” and was running out, knife in hand, before Maria could even comprehend what she had said.  
About five seconds later Maria ran out after her, nearly stumbling on the downed guard right outside the door. Running to the stairs, Maria saw two more guards down, and one more on the landing. Running down the stairs, taking them two at a time and jumping over downed guards, Maria caught up to Natalia at the last landing and got to watch first hand as she took out the last two guards stationed by the exit.  
“Wow.”  
“Oh, wow is it?” Natalia winked as she headed for the door.  
“Remind me to never bet against you in a fight…”  
Reaching the outside, Maria took the lead and ran in the shadows toward the nearest section of the outer wall. Behind them, a bell began ringing, and to the right they saw a line of torches lighting up along the wall. “That’s the alarm, run!” cried Natalia as she began sprinting full tilt.  
When they got to the wall, moments later, Natalia stepped into Maria’s hand and allowed herself to be boosted over. Maria clambered over after, and they ran into an alleyway across the street, just as light flooded their section of the wall.  
“Hey, slow down, walk normally.” Maria pulled on Natalia’s hand to slow her down. “Nobody knows you here, and we both look poor. Relax, running will cause suspicion.”  
As if to prove her point, a man walked by just in front of them and didn’t spare them a second glance. Taking deep breaths, Natalia visibly relaxed. “Where are we going?”  
“Sue’s, it’s a tavern just a few streets over. I’ve done Sue a few favors over the years, and she’s known me since I was a kid. Hopefully she’ll let us stay there for a while.”  
Nodding, Natalia moved closer to Maria and they walked in silence to their destination. Coming up to Sue’s back door, Maria rapped three times and waited. Moments later, the face of a woman about 50 years old with graying hair appeared in the doorway. Looking at Maria and sparing a brief glance at Natalia, she ushered them inside and bolted the door behind them.  
“Did you trigger the alarm, Maria? That ruckus is keeping everyone up.” Sue turned, gasping when she fully laid eyes on Maria. “My god, child. What did you do to yourself? Are those bites? You’re not back in the game again, are you?”  
“No, Sue. Nothing like that. I just ran into a little trouble getting my friend here off of castle grounds. I’ve had worse.”  
With the mention of Maria’s “friend,” Sue turned to look more closely at Natalia. Stepping forward and brushing the hair out of Natalia’s face, Sue stared for a few seconds. Then went stumbling back as if burned.  
“You brought the princess here?!? No, no. Get out! I won’t have her here, the castle men are going to come smashing in doors to get at her. If they find her here I’m through. I’m sorry Maria, I need you to leave. Now!”  
Natalia took a step toward the door, stopping when Maria put a hand on her arm.   
“No. We’re staying.” Maria kept her face perfectly expressionless.  
“This isn’t a negotiation, Maria. Get out of my house. Now.”  
“Nope.”  
Sue was outraged now, struggling to keep her voice down. “I said get out. I know we have a history, but nothing you’ve ever done for me can pay for this danger to my business and life.”  
Maria laughed, surprising both Natalia and Sue.  
“What about that time I fixed your roof because the carpenter was too scared to make the climb?”  
Sue shook her head, “Doesn’t matter.”  
“Or that time I stole food for your grandson when your daughter died? I fed him for a month, Sue. An entire month.”  
Sue hesitated, but still said, “It doesn’t matter.”  
Maria took in a deep breath. “Then tell me if this matters, Sue. You remember that time you called the law on my dad because he was swindling your customers and driving business away? And they came and took his top men away? You ever wondered why he didn’t retaliate for that?”  
Sue looked confused, saying “I thought he didn’t know it was me that made the report.”  
Laughing harshly, “Oh he knew. But little me foolishly liked you, and didn’t like his plans for retaliation. Ones that involved a trashed tavern, raped tavern owner, and dead grandson. So I stood up to him when he went tried to come here. I trashed his stuff, hid his knifes, and told him I wasn’t going to let him hurt my friend Sue.” Maria spat the word friend with disgust.  
“He locked me in a dog cage for a week, broke my ribs, nose, and gave me these.” Pulling up her shirt, Maria pointed to ten long, parallel cuts on her side. “The only positive was that he forgot about you in his hatred of me. So yeah, Sue, it does matter.”  
Sue was speechless. Opening her mouth, she looked like a gaping fish while she tried to think of something to say.  
“And now I’m here, asking you for help. Yeah, she’s the princess. She’s also the woman I love more than anything in the world, and I’m willing to die for her. If you send us back out, that might just happen.”  
Natalia stepped up next to Maria, taking her hand and rubbing small circles with her thumb.   
Finally, Sue spoke. “Maria…I’m sorry. I never knew. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me, for my grandson, for my business. You have to understand the position this puts me in though, she can bring down on me everything you’ve ever protected me from.”  
“I know, Sue. I’m not asking to live here. Just give us a week. One week to work something out, to find jobs, or passage from the city. Please Sue, just one week.”  
Sue nodded, “I guess I can’t refuse that. Come on girls, follow me.” Sue led the way down the hall to an empty room at the end. “I’ll be back in a minute with some supplies.”  
Maria and Natalia stared at each other, saying nothing. It had been an emotional day.  
Sue came back in, carrying a bowl with water and a sponge in one hand with a towel tucked under her arm, and two sets of clean clothes in the other. Setting the bowl and towel on the small table and the clothes on the bed, “You can clean yourselves up, and change into something clean. I got you some of my late husband’s clothes, Maria. They might be a bit loose, but you’re tall enough for it. And as for you princess, I got you some of my grandson’s clothes. You’re small enough it should be a good fit.”  
Natalia nodded gratefully, then was struck by a thought. “Ma’am, how did you recognize me earlier? I was never allowed out amongst the people.”  
Sue gave a small smile. “I went to a castle function many years ago, and I saw you there. A face that beautiful I’m not likely to forget, especially with your long red hair, it’s very noticeable.  
“Actually, that gives me a thought. You’re not going to want to be noticed out here. Not many people have ever seen you, but you’ll have made an impression on those who have. There are scissors in that top drawer over there, I’d consider a haircut if I were you.”  
With that, Sue left the room.  
Maria turned toward the bowl of water and smiled. “Not exactly like our first bath, is it?”  
Natalia laughed, grateful for the levity in the situation, “As long as it’s with you, I don’t care if it’s in a bowl or an ocean.”  
…  
An hour later, both women were cleaned and dry.  
“So what do you want to do about you hair?” Maria was holding the scissors, uncertain about how to proceed.  
Natalia sighed sadly, “My mother would hate this.” Gesturing a few inches above her shoulders, “Cut it to here. It’s definitely not a royal length.”  
Maria, hands shaking, reached out. “If you’re sure.”  
…  
Ten minutes later, Natalia stood in front of the mirror, admiring Maria’s work.   
“Well, it’s definitely different. Maria, do you like it?”  
“You could become bald tomorrow and I’d still like it. You’re always perfect, Nat.”  
“Nat. You should probably only call me that now, Natalia won’t exactly work.”  
Maria nodded, “I can do that. What about if someone asks you for your full name? I know several poor families who have named their children names close to royal names, to be closer to the elite I suppose. I think there’s a family on the other side of the city with the surname Romanoff, which might work. People make fun of them sometimes, but I think it would make people wonder less about your background. There’s no way you might be the missing princess with a name so desperately close to Romanova as Romanoff.”  
Considering it, Natalia said “I agree. I think it’s just cocky enough to get away with. What would Nat be short for though? I can’t say my name is Natalia, my father made it very clear after my birth that the name is reserved for royalty.”  
“Hmm… How about Natasha? I know about ten Natasha’s in this city alone. I think your father’s prohibition of Natalia made more people chose something close.”  
“Natasha Romanoff.” Natalia pondered it for a moment. “Alright, it’s official. My name is Natasha Romanoff. You should probably not call me Natalia at all anymore, just to get used to it.”  
“Well Natasha, I’m probably going to stick to Nat when we’re alone…but I can do that.”  
Natasha pulled Maria in for a hug, head leaning into her chest. “Thank you Maria, for everything.”  
“I would do anything for you, Nat. You know that. Now come on, let’s go to bed.”  
…  
The next day, Maria and Natasha asked Sue if they could help around the tavern.  
“Well, there’s a leak in the roof that needs fixing. Maria, you’ve shown yourself adept in that area in the past, if you wouldn’t mind climbing up. As for Natalia-”  
“It’s Natasha.”   
“Right, of course. As for Natasha, we should probably keep you out of public eye just in case. You could help me organize the stock in the back, it’s not terribly exciting, but unfortunately it needs to be done.”  
Both women nod in agreement and set off to their individual tasks.  
Two hours later, Natasha heard a crash out in the main room. Peeking her head around the corner, she saw two men fighting and inching closer to the bar shelves. Knowing how much money would be lost if they hit the shelves, Natasha ran out from the back towards the men.   
With a few well placed kicks and one rather impressive flip, she had them both face down on the floor in a matter of seconds. “Now, if you boys could take this outside, away from the breakable things, I would be very appreciative.”  
Smiling and getting off of them, she stood and waited for them to leave. One of the men got up and turned toward her, anger apparent on his face. “No way. You got lucky! I’m not being ordered around by some little girl.”  
“And if I beat you again? Without you being surprised, will you leave then?”  
Guffawing, and egged on by the men around him, the man exclaimed “Of course! Not that you have any chance of winning, but if it makes you feel better, I agree to your terms.”  
“Sounds good.” Gesturing to the crowd around her, “You heard the man, if I win, he leaves. That’s the deal.”  
Ignoring the jeers, Natasha stood smiling. “Whenever you’re ready.” And with that, the man rushed forward.  
Natasha dropped to the ground, sliding between his legs, then popped up behind him and landed a few blows to his sides. While he struggled to turn around and face her again, she executed a perfect flip over him, catching his neck between her legs and dragging him down with her. He hit the ground hard, and before he could even move to get up, Natasha’s boot was across his neck, pushing down enough to make him cough and struggle for breath.  
“Now. I won, so I’d appreciate it if you left.”  
The man tried to grab her leg and pull her down, but was only met with a slight shifting of her boot and increased pressure to the side of his neck. His vision fading now that Natasha had switched to a blood choke, he feared the ridicule of passing out and started nodding and tapping her leg.   
Smiling, Natasha took away her boot and watched as he regained his breath.   
“Now before any of you think to ridicule this man, just know that I’ve been trained for my entire life by men much better at fighting than any of you. All of you would fall before me, and I wouldn’t even break a sweat. I’d advise you not to try it.”  
Turning on her heel to go back to her task organizing the back, Natasha was surprised to run directly into Sue. Sue, to her credit, maintained a serious face and leveled a glare at all of the men in the room. “This, boys, is Natasha. She’s a new acquaintance of mine, and I suggest you be on your best behavior while she’s here. Else you want to end up like Dmitry here,” she gestured to the man on the floor.  
Knowing Sue’s penchant for no nonsense, the men all nodded. Even Dmitry. “Good. Now enjoy the rest of your night, without breaking my tavern please.”  
Sue turned and Natasha followed her back to the store room.  
Once they were out of view of the customers, Sue turned to stare at her. “Mind telling me where that came from?”  
“Well…they were getting close to the shelves, and I didn’t want them to break anything. So I broke it up. Then Dmitry thought challenging me was a good idea, so I showed him why it wasn’t. Nothing special.”  
Sue looked incredulous. “Nothing special? That was amazing. How the hell can you fight like that? Do they have some royal fighting requirement I haven’t heard of?”  
“Ah, that. Well, no. I always liked fighting and trained with the castle guards for most of my life, without my father’s permission of course. I was the best, the old commander Alexei used to call me a natural.”  
Sue looked like she had an idea, but all she said was, “That explains it, but it’s no less impressive. Thank you.”  
Nodding, Natasha went back to organizing the stock.  
…  
Two days later, Maria and Natasha still had not had any luck in the way of job prospects or a way out of the city. They had been asking around the bar, but nobody seems to have any helpful ideas or offers.   
As far as helping Sue out with the tavern, Natasha had broken up another fight and Maria had fixed and re-thatched the roof. Sue seemed impressed, both by Natasha’s fighting skill and Maria’s ability to climb the odd angles of her roof that no carpenter ever seemed able to.   
There had been a few castle guards come by, but they were all discrete and didn’t mention what they were looking for. Natasha suspected they still hoped to recover her for their breeding project, which meant they couldn’t say she was missing. “Escaped Princess” doesn’t exactly bode well for the perfect royal image. Eventually though, once she was gone for long enough, she thought they might make up an abduction story.   
Seeing how events were rolling out, Sue came to a new decision. Knocking on their room’s door one day, Sue went inside.  
Maria was sitting in the chair, and Natasha was on the bed. Maria spoke, “What can we do for you Sue?”  
“You can stay here for as long as you want or need. There is still risk for me, but you have both been an extreme benefit to this place, and I think those benefits outweigh the risks. I have never had a weekend with no damage done to the tavern, and that’s because of Natasha keeping the fights under control. And the roof, Maria, you’re fantastic for fixing the roof. It’s always breaking in some way, and ever since one of the handy men from the neighborhood fell off everyone says it’s too dangerous. So, I’ll say again. You can stay here, for as long as you’d like.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I need help in deciding how this story will end. Anyone who actually reads and enjoys this, the few of you there may be, let me know what you think. The original idea in my head only took me to this point, and I don’t know how to proceed. My thoughts as they stand now give me two options:  
> Option one: Maria and Natasha join a circus, making full use of Maria’s climbing skill and Natasha’s acrobatics and fighting skill. The circus travels away from the city, carrying them forward into their lives, which we can only hope will be happy. Possible Clint Barton appearance as a fellow circus performer.  
> Option two: M and N take over the tavern from Sue and grow old to be the cool lesbian tavern owners, taking shit from no one. Some palace people might make a positive appearance in this option (Valina or the guard Alexei). There is also potential for revenge on the bad guys eventually (think: Viktor, Chekov, King) since M and N would stay in the city. No promises though.  
> I think option two is maybe a bit more authentic to the story, but option one is too kickass not to consider, and I really do like them both. If you have an option you think I should pursue out of those two, or an entirely different option spawned from your own mind, let me know. I’d like to see this story through to the end.


	7. Job Offer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Fuck, Dmitry. You couldn’t keep your goddamn mouth shut."
> 
> Or, we get to meet some new characters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit shorter than the last few, but I hope it's still enjoyable.

Natasha and Maria had been working at Sue’s for three months now, and still had heard no word about the missing princess. The nightly patrols and random inspections had increased, but Sue’s had plenty of hiding holes for them to wait those out in.  
Their relationship had only deepened and grown in their time in hiding. Sue was now routinely making jokes about wedding bells, much to the chagrin of both women. Of course, Natasha had a period of adjustment to her new less privileged life, but Maria was able to talk her through the larger adjustments with only minimal fighting.  
But still, something felt missing. Never before had either of their lives been so peaceful. They each had plenty of work to keep them busy, but something about the easy routine had them both chomping at the bit for some excitement. This desire for excitement was usually satisfied through their sexual escapades, but there was only so much screaming that Sue could take before she told them to keep it down or take it somewhere else.  
\---  
One evening, about an hour before the sun set, four unknown men walked into Sue’s. Varying greatly in appearance, they seemed to be in a rather jovial mood, until they bumped into Dmitry. To be more specific, until the black man bumped into Dmitry.  
Laughing, the man said “sorry about that mate” and continued walking toward the bar.  
Dmitry wouldn’t let it go, though, and turned around and shoved the man back into his three friends. Refusing to speak to the black man directly, Dmitry addressed his next words to the white skinned, blonde haired and blue eyed member of the gang. “Keep track of your mutt, would you?” The men around Dmitry laughed and clapped him on the back as he turns back to his seat.  
“Oh hell no! You don’t get to talk about me like that.” Just as the man was about to step toward Dmitry a voice rang out from the store room.  
“What the hell is going on out there?”  
At the sound of the voice, all of the regulars quickly put space between themselves and the newcomers. Dmitry called out “nothing you need to worry about Natasha. Just some friends talking.”  
“Friends?! No. You don’t get to insult me like that and then pretend you didn’t. No, friend,” the man sneered the word, “you need to answer for what you said. Step up like a man, right here right now.”  
The sound of the store room door slamming shut rang throughout the silent bar. The sound struck visible fear into the regulars, even Dmitry, who reached up and touched his fading black eye.  
Natasha stalked into the middle of the two groups and placed her hands on her hips. “Anybody want to tell me what’s going on here?”  
The newcomer spoke up, “Yeah, I’ll tell you. This asshole thinks he can get off without answering for what he said. Well that isn’t going to happen.”  
Before he took even a step Natasha was in front of him holding her hand up. “It’s my job to keep the violence out of Sue’s tavern, and I intend to do just that. Please don’t make me hurt you.”  
Snorting in disbelief, the man moves to push Natasha to the side so he can get at Dmitry. In a flash, Natasha laid him out in a single move.  
“Sam!” The muscular man Dmitry had addressed earlier ran to where Sam laid unconscious on the ground and checked him over. Satisfied with his condition he pulled him across the floor to rest sitting up against the bar.  
“Now boys, I was really looking forward to a quiet night in with my girlfriend and you have to come in here and make my job harder. I know Dmitry is a jerk, I’ve laid him out enough times to know that he likely has it coming to him. But this is a respectable establishment and I’d like to keep it as such. So please, if you can’t all keep it civil then I’m going to have to knock some more heads and boot you out of here. You don’t want that, do you?”  
The man rose to his feet and addressed Natasha directly. “My name is Steve, and this man standing next to me is Clint. Dmitry insulted our friend Sam and we can’t let that stand. Now, ma’am, I don’t want disrespect a lady, but that man’s behavior needs to be accounted for. You just took out our friend here when he wasn’t expecting it, but we both know fighting is no place for a lady. I suggest that you head into the back so you don’t have to witness the beating these boys are about to get. I wouldn’t want you getting hurt.” Steve smiled at her in what he thought was a disarming way.  
Natasha reached behind her and untied her apron, letting out a large sigh. “I know you’re one of those gentlemanly types, but I stand by my words. If you want to start a fight in Sue’s bar then I’m going to do my best to stop you…” She dropped the apron to the side. “And I assure you, my best is more than enough.”  
Steve flexed his rather considerable muscles and Clint stepped forward beside him. Sensing the direction this was going, Dmitry and the other men stepped back against the wall to give Natasha more room to work.  
“What? You would hide behind a small woman instead of face us like men?”  
Dmitry went to take a step forward, but with a warning glance from Natasha he bowed his head and stepped back. “Yes, I would. And you would be wise to take your mutt and do the same.” Dmitry curled his lip up in disdain.  
At the repetition of his earlier insult, Steve and Clint began to move forward.  
Natasha shook her head in anger. “Fuck, Dmitry. You couldn’t keep your goddamn mouth shut.”  
As Natasha advanced to meet the two circus performers, Sam’s eyes fluttered open at the bar and he tried to make sense of the scene before him. Through his blurry vision all he could make out was a streak of red flying through the air. When he felt the floor shudder he wondered briefly who felled a tree inside the tavern before he fell asleep once again.  
\---  
Steve, Clint, and Sam were all lying in a heap in the alley beside Sue’s when one by one they started to wake up.  
Clint moved to rub his eyes then winced in pain as he felt his swollen cheek. “What happened”  
“You got your ass beat for not listening to Natasha.”  
Clint rose to his feet and looked around wildly, trying to find the source of the voice.  
Maria let out a sigh. “You’d be surprised how many people fail to look up.”  
Looking toward the roof Clint was shocked to see a young woman perched precariously on the edge of the roof. Now, Clint was a skilled acrobat himself, but even he was worried for Maria’s safety. “Careful up there little lady, you’ll hurt yourself.”  
Smiling, Maria jumped to the next roof with practiced ease and perched in an equally precarious position. “Thanks for the concern, but I think I’ll be alright.”  
Steve and Sam each groaned as they joined Clint in an upright position, testing their movements and feeling their respective soreness.  
Sam, wobbling shakily on his feet, asked “what the hell did that bitch do to us?”  
A rock came out of nowhere and smacked him between the eyes, sending him back to the ground. “I’d be careful with that language if I were you. That’s my girlfriend you’re talking about.”  
Steve, just now being clued into the fact that they had a guest in the alley, looked up in shock. “Hey! You could get hurt up there, get down!”  
“It’s the same shit every time with you virtuous types.” Maria hopped back to the tavern roof, this time throwing in a flip for style points. “You want to protect women. You want to stand up for your friends and against injustice. You want to be real men.” Maria punctuated each sentence by leaping five feet from roof to roof. Now she climbed up the tavern chimney until she was even higher above the men. Leaning out, with only one foot and one hand keeping her steady, she continued her speech. “But you know what you really are? Misogynists. I get that you’ve probably been around weak women before, but I always hope that your mothers would have taught you better. If not your mothers, then at least the ass kicking you just received at the hands of a five foot tall woman inside that tavern. Or maybe, you know, the fact that no matter how much you worry about me up here, I’m not going to fall. I have skill.” With that statement she jumped from the top of the chimney back onto the other roof.  
Steve gasped, “Be care-”  
Sam clapped his hand over Steve’s mouth.  
“There. You see, that one is starting to get it. Now, I pride myself on knowing this city and I’ve never seen you boys around. Where are you from?”  
Sam, Steve, and Clint exchange looks, uncertain if they should tell this strange woman anything about themselves.  
Just then, a dapper man in a nicely tailored suit stepped out of the tavern’s side door. “They’re from the Russian Underground Circus.”  
Clint looked at the man and exclaimed “Phil! What the hell do you think you’re doing?”  
Phil ignored him and continued to address Maria. “And if you’re interested...I would like to offer you and Natasha jobs.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yeah. I'm doing the circus thing. Don't worry though, after a few chapters of circus adventures they're going to return to the capital city and tie up some loose ends.  
> At least, that's the current plan.


End file.
